Nothing, unless you are Lesley Lambert and happen to be showing 13 houses in Springfield, MA to your new first time home buyer client!
Never let it be said that being a real estate agent isn’t a constant adventure!
So, my day started out with meeting my new buyer client for the first time and doing a buyer agency counseling session. After that we loaded up into my car and started out on our three hour journey.
The first home was normal enough. Lock box where it belongs, house was ok…we moved on.
The second home was confirmed with the homeowner to let us in. We find the street and my buyer points to a house with a sign and says “there it is”. I park, we head to the door and knock. No answer. I try the REALTOR to see if I can use the lock box and can’t get in touch with him. As I am getting on the phone with the listing office my buyer informs me that we are at the wrong house. Color me dippy…I never checked the house number, sheesh. With a laugh we make our way to the correct home which the buyer didn’t like.
We zig zag across Springfield (my showing order got messed up by the listing Realtors time requirements) and go to our next home which isn’t plowed or shoveled out. After stomping through the foot of snow we discover that it is also not the right home. Ah, the joys of showing REO listings in the winter in Western Massachusetts.
Next stop was almost not a stop as we slid sideways down the ice encrusted hill leading to the home. We can’t go inside this one because the agent hasn’t called me back in four days with the lock box combo…of course, they love this one, so we have to re-schedule.
Moving along we use my GPS to find the next stop, only the road has been barricaded with barrels and chains. We decide to park and walk vs. trying to find our way around. This home is a treasure! It is a large Craftsman home with a different inlaid floor pattern in each room, beamed ceilings, gorgeous built in features and wood galore. The MBR has a bath AND a fireplace and we are all falling in love, until….we go into the bedroom with icicles on the ceiling. This is a bank owned “where is, as is” listing and these buyers are not ready for that kind of project.
NEXT!
A series of homes that are just not quite right follow as we continue to loop around town. We pass the same landmark a few times and I start making “Look Kids! Big Ben!” jokes a la the movie European Vacation.
We eventually land at our last home which looks adorable from the road and has a large lot. The driveway has totally iced over and the three of us are literally skating to the back door to access the lock box. After a few axles and triple loops we get inside the house, which is quaint. This home is somehow been frozen in time, including the amenities which include this lovely AM/FM toilet paper dispenser. I have been showing homes for 20years and I must admit, I have never seen this before!
At the end of the day, we had shared a lot of laughs and seen a lot of interesting things. I know more about these new buyers and what they are looking for in a home and we will be going out for more adventures next weekend!
If you know someone who is looking to buy a home in Western MA and would like to make it an adventure…have them call
Lesley Lambert, The Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty!
